The Dred Scott Case

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The Illustration above is an early poster describing the outcome of the Dred Scott case. The question “How it relates to the Moors” is interesting. this seems to be evidence of American Social Darwinism.

Dred Scott was a slave in the United States that wanted to sue for his freedom in 1847. See more on Dred Scott v Sandford here.

Why did he feel he had the right to freedom?

His owner brought him to a free territory/state and he felt that he had the right to be free because he was no longer in a slave state.

When it was brought to the Supreme Court in 1857, the Supreme Court denied his freedom and the court decided that African Americans even if they were free slaves can never become a citizen in the United States. This decision meant that African Americans couldn’t sue in federal court. This decision helped further divide the country over the issue of slavery before the Civil War.

This case was was overturned by the passage of the 14th Amendment after the civil war.

It took over 200 years for African Americans to become free and have equal rights. Today in the United States the group of people that are still fighting for their rights are Immigrants and Gays.

“We The People”is the ideal but it has been a work in progress.

How long do you think it will take for them to have equal rights and what other groups of people are fighting for their rights?

http://http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2932.html

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Scott had the right to become free, but the federal court disagreed in support of slavery. They said he remained property and not a citizen. This was because he had already been deemed a slave under Missouri law right?